


The One With The Accidental Love Confession

by GeckoGirl89



Category: Friends (TV)
Genre: Accidental Love Confessions, Alternate Season/Series 09, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Background Chandler/Monica, Background Ross/Charlie, Based on a Tumblr Post, Chandler Ships It, Confusion, Conversations, Developing Relationship, Dysfunctional Ross/Rachel, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventually Requited Love, F/M, Friendship/Love, Idiots in Love, Implied Sexual Content, Innuendo, Introspection, Mutual Pining, POV Alternating, Pining, Post-Episode s09e14 The One With the Blind Dates, Relationship Advice, Resolved Sexual Tension, Snowball Fight, Unrequited Love, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-21
Updated: 2016-12-24
Packaged: 2018-09-11 00:20:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 18,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8945152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeckoGirl89/pseuds/GeckoGirl89
Summary: The first time he said it, Rachel had laughed, thinking it was a joke.The second time, she was laughing before he said it and immediately stopped.





	1. The Words Slipped Out Unintentionally

**Author's Note:**

> I was inspired by this post on otpprompts (http://otpprompts.tumblr.com/): _Imagine your OTP (only friends yet) in a playful fight. It can be a snowball one, or paintball etc. They both giggle a lot and end up lying down, side by side, on the ground, and Person A lets an “I love you” (they had never said “I love you” to each other, not even in a friendly way) escape. How Person B reacts is up to you._ Altered slightly to fit this pairing in season 9, of course.
> 
> This story will be fairly angsty, but it will have a happy Joey/Rachel ending in later chapters. This is set after 9.14 (TOW The Blind Dates). This story will have some deliberate parallels with episodes like 9.19 (TOW Rachel's Dream), because I think finding out that Joey is still in love with her would have changed the course of the season and made her start to reciprocate feelings for him sooner.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They had laid on the ground, giggling and exhausted, when Joey had become entranced with her beautiful laughter, windswept hair, happy gleam in her eyes, and lightly flushed cheeks. The words had slipped out unintentionally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is from Joey's POV, and it's pretty angsty, but it does have a hopeful course of development. In it, I explain why Joey told Ross he was over Rachel (which seems like a lie based on later events) and why he went along with Phoebe's plan to set up Ross and Rachel in 9.14 (TOW The Blind Dates).
> 
> I also portray Ross/Rachel in this chapter as dysfunctional as it was in 9.13 (TOW Monica Sings). It won't be tagged in the main relationship section since this is firmly a Joey/Rachel story, but it is discussed in this chapter and will probably come up in other chapters since it is the giant elephant in the room.

The first time he said it, Rachel had laughed, thinking it was a joke.

The second time, she was laughing before he said it and immediately stopped.

Joey shut his eyes and bit his lower lip. A few seconds ago, they had been having so much fun, but now Joey had ruined it. After Ross had stopped by to pick up Emma for that day, Rachel and Joey had gone to the park and engaged in a playful snowball fight. They had laid on the ground, giggling and exhausted, when Joey had become entranced with her beautiful laughter, windswept hair, happy gleam in her eyes, and lightly flushed cheeks. The words had slipped out unintentionally.

Rachel's soft voice broke through his thoughts. "Still?"

Joey opened his eyes to glance at her briefly before he stared down at his hands. He couldn't look at Rachel when he told her this. He was afraid he would see the same pity he had seen almost a year ago in that restaurant, and he felt ashamed of himself. Joey knew he wasn't supposed to feel this way about her, but he couldn't help it. "I'm so sorry, Rach."

He heard shuffling, indicating that she sat up. "Joey, please, God, don't be sorry about that." He gazed up at her and couldn't quite read her expression, but he was at least relieved to see that she didn't look annoyed or disgusted like his other friends had when he had mentioned how he felt when they were in the waiting room while she gave birth to Emma. They had almost seemed irritated that he wasn't over her yet. She laid her mitten-covered hand gently over his. "Just don't."

Joey sat up, trying to ignore how the simple touch of her hand made his heart race. He knew she meant it only as a gesture of friendship, which only highlighted how incredible she was to show him so much support. "But doesn't this make you uncomfortable?"

Rachel's answer surprised Joey. "Not really." She nose scrunched in the adorable way it did when she was trying to concentrate on something. "I'm just more confused than anything else."

"About what?" Joey didn't exactly want to talk about his feelings, but he would if Rachel asked.

"I don't know. I just thought that you got over me. When I thought you proposed to me, I thought I was wrong, but then it turned out to be a misunderstanding."

Joey shook his head. "Please, Rach, like I would really propose to you with another guy's ring."

Rachel drew in a sharp breath and Joey looked at her shocked expression. Fuck, he had done it again. He had just been recalling the incident and his own frustration with how Ross been so angry with him, as if Joey had intentionally proposed to Rachel with Ross's grandmother's wedding ring. He had more class than that.

But the truth was, if it was ever possible for Rachel to feel the same way, Joey would propose to her, which he had accidentally revealed. Joey laughed weakly. "Can we just pretend I didn't say that and move on?"

"I, uh, yeah, okay." Rachel sounded kind of breathless, so Joey wasn't sure if she would actually forget it anytime soon. She cleared her throat. "But you've dated other women since then. And last week, you did that weird plan with Phoebe to try to get Ross and me back together again."

Ross and Rachel had chased down Phoebe and Joey, and Joey had immediately confessed the reasons behind their scheming. Rachel's glare was intimidating, and he could never keep secrets for long. It was a wonder he had kept his feelings hidden for months, but Joey had a stronger reason to keep that secret than any other.

"I figured you guys were gonna get back together someday. Everybody believes you will. And really, I just want you to be happy."

Rachel sighed and glanced over to a nearby bench. "I have a feeling this is gonna take a while. You want to go sit on that bench over there?"

"Sure." Joey followed Rachel as she stood and walked over to the park bench. Joey sat down fairly close to her, uncertain if he should sit further away after accidentally saying he was still in love with her, but Rachel didn't seem uncomfortable with their proximity.

She took a deep breath before she spoke. "Okay, first of all, Ross and I aren't getting back together. I don't want to get back with him."

Joey shook his head. "Rach, I know you guys had some kind of big fight, but--"

"I'm not mad at him," Rachel said, and strangely enough, she sounded resigned rather than angry. He glanced over to see her staring thoughtfully into the distance. "I'm tired. That argument we had, it's just the same old fight we've had for years. I think it would be better for me and Ross to quit trying to force things to work between us."

Joey had seen Ross talk about seeing other people calmly last week, but he always did that. Then, of course, he acted jealous when Rachel showed interest in someone else. "Are you sure you don't still feel something for him?"

Rachel shrugged. "Maybe? After all this time, I really don't know. And I'm tired of trying to find out." She leaned her head against the back of the bench. "There's so much bitter history between me and Ross. I think it might have killed whatever spark we had."

Joey remembered how Phoebe had said that Ross, Rachel, and Emma should be a family. That argument had convinced him to help her with her plan more than anything else. Joey wanted what was best for Emma, and he hated the idea of breaking up a family. "But what about Emma?"

Rachel looked down at her hands. She seemed guilty, and Joey felt terrible that he had made her feel that way. "Rach, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel bad. You're a great mom." Rachel smiled up at him gratefully. "It's just... Emma is why you moved in with Ross in the first place."

"There was a part of me that wanted us to be together for her, but I don't think that's gonna work out," Rachel replied. "And Ross and I can't be together if we're fighting all the time. I remember how my parents barely talked to each other for years before they got divorced, and I can't put my daughter through that."

Everything Rachel said made sense, but there was a part of Joey that felt selfish for agreeing with her. He had suppressed any doubts he had about "Ross and Rachel" since he knew his own perspective on the situation was skewed. Deep down, he still wanted to be with Rachel, even if he knew that was impossible.

Rachel chuckled, and Joey glanced at her curiously. "And then there's the fact that I can't even feel comfortable living with him." She grinned wryly at Joey. "It doesn't exactly spell 'meant to be,' does it?"

Joey shrugged. "I guess not." He frowned, recalling how they got to this point. "Speaking of which, I guess now you'll want to move in with Pheebs or something." He would miss living with her. He had loved living with her before he developed these feelings, but since then he took pleasure in just seeing her everyday, soaking in her presence in his life. It was worth the pain of knowing he would never be her boyfriend if he got to be her roommate and best friend. He didn't want to lose that.

"What are you talking about?"

He fidgeted, dreading the fact that he had to say it again. "I still love you. Doesn't that make you feel weird?"

"Not, not bad weird." She seemed surprised by what she was saying. "It's just kind of unexpected that you would still have feelings for me after so long."

He made his tone sound flirtatious and teasing despite the truth behind what he was saying. "You're a hard woman to get over, Rachel."

She giggled and blushed. Rachel had never reacted to his flirting that way before, but then again, it hadn't come from a place of sincere emotion before. It gave Joey a little bit of hope, but he tried to stomp that down to focus on his next statement, which was serious. "I promise, I'm not going to pressure you about it or anything, and I'll try to act as normal as possible. I just want to be your friend, Rach."

"I know, and I appreciate that. That's why I still feel okay living with you after everything you said." Rachel swallowed heavily. "To be honest, I'd really love to keep living with you. Assuming you still want to live with me."

"Are you kidding me, Rach? I'm crazy about you. You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, and we always have so much fun together. I love just getting to be around you." Joey paused, realizing that he had let his mouth run free again, and watched Rachel's eyes go wide as saucers. She had started blushing again, and her mouth was parted slightly. Joey really wanted to kiss her, but instead he shifted uncomfortably. "I did it again, didn't I?"

"You did, but I didn't mind." Rachel smiled. "I never had a guy gush about me like that before. It was kind of flattering."

"Well, let me know anytime you need an ego boost. Because trust me, I'm always full of sappy thoughts about you."

Rachel laughed, standing up from the bench. "I guess I'll have to take you up on that, then. Come on, let's go home."

As Joey walked home with Rachel, he noticed that she seemed to be processing their conversation. He knew she had a lot to think about with Joey's revelation and her own conclusions about her and Ross, so he didn't say anything. He tried not to get his hopes up, but Rachel had reacted very differently than he would have expected. She actually seemed to like the idea of him having feelings for her, and it almost seemed like she was responding with more than gratitude or surprise. In the middle of their stroll, Rachel shivered, and Joey gave her his coat, placing it over her shoulders. She looked up at him questioningly. He supposed that kind of gesture did have a different significance now, but Rachel didn't give the coat back. In fact, she snuggled into it. When Rachel wasn't looking at him, Joey beamed at what she had done with his coat.

When they entered their apartment building, Joey tugged Rachel's arm lightly when a new concern popped up in his mind. "What is it?" she asked.

"Can you not tell Ross about our conversation today? I kind of lied and told him I was over you right after you moved back in."

"Why did you do that?"

"I just wanted him to feel okay with you living with me again. And I know you might want to talk about this with Monica or whatever, but I really don't want this to get back to Ross." Joey ran his hands through his hair, frustrated at himself. "I wasn't planning to ever tell you, 'til I screwed that up. If Ross finds out, he's gonna be pissed."

Rachel set her jaw, staring angrily at something, but at least not at him. "It's really none of his business, anyway. I'll try to make sure it doesn't get back to him."

He felt at least a little of the burden lift from his shoulders. "Thanks. I'm sorry I did this to you, Rach."

She shook her head. "It's not your fault." She grabbed his arm and pulled him to the stairwell. "You've had a tough day. Let's get the Joey special."

"Two pizzas?" Joey grinned at the prospect of ordering in pizza with Rachel.

"That's right. And we'll watch whatever you want on TV, as long as it's not porn."

Joey laughed at her caveat, feeling carefree despite the complications in his life. He still longed to be with Rachel in a way he couldn't, but right now, he felt content.

"You've got yourself a deal."


	2. The Less than Helpful London Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rachel chose her next words carefully. "Have, uh, have you ever had a guy be so nice to you, that you just wanted to grab him and kiss him?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has Rachel starting to process what Joey told her and think about her own feelings in response to what he said. Yay! This chapter takes place the day after the previous chapter, and it starts out in Rachel's POV, and it shifts to Monica's POV at the end for the last scene. I deliberately echoed the conversations Joey had with Chandler and Joey's unseen conversation with Monica in 8.13 (TOW Chandler Takes a Bath) and refer to those conversations in this chapter. The London story comes from 7.16 (TOW The Truth about London).
> 
> As I said earlier, this story will have a happy Joey/Rachel ending, but it will take at least a little while for it to happen. We make some positive progress in that direction in this chapter.

That night, Ross had dropped Emma back at their apartment and Rachel and Joey had a normal evening at home. Joey wanted to show Rachel that they could still be roommates, and Rachel wanted to show that she was fine with everything she had learned that day.

But when she tried to go to sleep, she tossed and turned in her bed. A particular thing Joey had said stuck out her mind despite her attempts to gloss over it at the time and ignore it now.

_"Please, Rach, like I would really propose to you with another guy's ring."_

He could have said that of course he wouldn't propose to her, at all. He could have said that the only reason he would propose to her would be for some chivalrous attempt at making sure she wouldn't be alone. She had wondered if that was what had happened at the time.

But he had said that he wouldn't propose to her with another guy's ring. Which left open the possibility that he would propose if he could do it the right way. That threw Rachel for a loop, along with everything else he had said yesterday. She couldn't believe he had held onto his feelings for an entire year without hope of reciprocation, and that they were apparently deep enough for him to seriously consider marrying her.

Yesterday, she had seen glimpses of how he might act if he were her boyfriend, with the speech about why he wanted to live with her and the way he gave her his coat when she got a little chilly. It made her heart beat a little faster and made her feel warm inside, but Rachel didn't know if it was only gratitude or something else. Joey's coat felt really nice on her, and she felt comforted by wearing something that smelled like him. That thought wasn't exactly platonic.

When Joey had said a year ago that he was falling in love with her, it had come as a complete shock to Rachel. She had been so focused on her pregnancy that she had completely missed Joey falling in love with her and had missed seeing whatever made that happen for him. But now that the idea didn't seem completely out of the blue, she could actually allow herself to consider the possibility of being with Joey.

Rachel decided to take the time to figure out how she really felt. She wouldn't leap into anything too fast, but she wouldn't shy away from how she felt either. Joey had been completely honest and unselfish with his feelings, and she owed him the same consideration.

The next morning, Rachel squinted tiredly at the bright light as she made her way out to the living room after feeding Emma. She spotted Joey sitting over by the counter, eating breakfast. "Good morning, Joey."

"Morning." He frowned in concern. "Geez, Rach, are you okay? You look really exhausted."

She shook her head. "I'm fine. But I must really look bad if you could tell so easily."

Joey had finished his bowl of cereal, so he put it in the sink before walking out towards her. "Trust me, Rach. You never look bad." He smoothed down some of the bedhead, and his voice came out as a low murmur. "I don't even think it's possible for you to look bad."

The way Joey's gaze traveled all over her face, stopping briefly on her lips, made her wonder if he was thinking about kissing her. _I kind of want him to._ The thought startled Rachel, and she pulled back slightly.

Joey's eyes, which had looked so intense with admiration before, looked somewhat guilty now. "Sorry. Guess I took that a little too far, huh?"

Rachel smiled shakily, willing her heart to stop pounding like it was. Joey's lips looked really soft. _Stop thinking about that!_ "It's fine. I'm glad I don't look too bad, at least."

Joey shrugged. "I just knew you didn't get much sleep because I've been there before." Rachel wondered if it had anything to do with her, but then he clarified. "Emma. She's still kind of in that crying a lot at night stage, huh?" Joey was grinning as he said it.

"That doesn't seem to bother you at all," Rachel noted.

"She's a baby. That's what they do. Plus, she's too adorable to get mad at."

Rachel's heart melted at how Joey was talking about her daughter. He had made things so easy for the both of them. She remembered when she was pregnant and how he had set up the area in the apartment to convince her to keep living with him. And now that she was back with an infant in tow, Joey was hardly protesting the crimp having a baby in the same apartment would put on his bachelor lifestyle.

She glanced over at the clock on the stove and noticed that she didn't have very long before she would have to leave for work. "I've got to go get ready now."

"All right, talk to you later, Rach."

Rachel strode to the bathroom, laughing when she walked inside and looked in the mirror. Her hair looked beyond messy, and she had dark under eye circles. As she put on makeup and made herself look more refreshed, Rachel thought that beauty was definitely in the eye of the beholder. And, for Joey at least, love made him blind.

* * *

After dropping off Emma with the nanny Ross and she had hired, Rachel went in to work and was able to focus on her job for a few hours. The situation with Joey occasionally popped up in her mind, but Rachel tried not to let it distract her.

During her lunch break, she stopped by Central Perk for a cup of coffee. When she was sitting down on the couch with a cup of coffee, she saw Monica walk in.

Joey had been right yesterday. She really felt like she needed to talk to someone about what was going on, and Monica and Phoebe were usually the friends she would talk about her love life with.

Rachel felt like a muddled mess. She hardly knew how she felt, and she thought maybe talking to Monica would help. But she didn't want to reveal what Joey had told her yesterday. Joey hadn't even meant to tell her, and it felt disrespectful to share it with Monica despite Joey telling her that she could. And then there was the fact that Joey had been afraid of Ross finding out. As his little sister, would Monica feel obligated to tell him?

Monica's sharp voice pulled Rachel out of her contemplation. "Rachel, you've hardly paid attention to my restaurant story."

Monica had joined her on the couch after greeting her briefly and had started to tell her about something that happened at work, but Rachel had been so wrapped up in her own issues that she had barely heard what Monica said. "Sorry, Mon." She grinned apologetically. "I guess I had something on my mind."

"What is it?"

Rachel bit her lip, wondering where and how to start. Maybe if she told her only part of what was going on and kept it vague, Monica wouldn't find out. Yeah, that could work!

Rachel chose her next words carefully. "Have, uh, have you ever had a guy be so nice to you, that you just wanted to grab him and kiss him?"

Monica raised an eyebrow. "What is this about?"

Rachel grimaced nervously. "Can you just answer the question, Mon?"

Monica stared off into the distance, pondering Rachel's question. "I guess that's sort of what happened with Chandler in London." She grinned over at Rachel. "I never told you the full story, did I?"

"No, I don't think you did."

"Well, I was really upset because this guy thought I was Ross's mother."

"Oh my God!"

"I _know!_ And I was pretty drunk, so I was kind of looking for a meaningless hook up to feel better, so I went back to the room. I was actually looking for Joey, weirdly enough." Monica shook her head at herself, and lost in her reminiscing, she didn't notice how Rachel winced when she mentioned Joey. Rachel really, really didn't want to think about Monica hooking up with Joey. "Anyway, Chandler was there, and Joey was off with one of the bridesmaids. Chandler and I talked about what that guy said, and he told me I was the most beautiful woman in the room that right. Then he said I was the most beautiful woman in most rooms." She sighed happily. "And then I pretty much launched myself at him."

Rachel sipped her coffee, thinking over what Monica had said. Her story was remarkably similar to what had nearly happened with Joey this morning, but Rachel had been too startled and hesitant to actually kiss Joey. "But Mon, how did you know you actually wanted to kiss Chandler?"

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

"How did you know you weren't just feeling grateful because of all the stuff he said?"

Monica shrugged. "I don't know, I guess I was kind of drunk, so I just kissed him without thinking about it. And then I knew because Chandler is really amazing kisser."

Rachel stared down at her mug, twisting it in her hands. Monica's story actually wasn't that helpful. The circumstances were too different. Chandler may have had a crush on Monica before London, but he hadn't professed to being in love with her. Monica had been able to make a spontaneous move on Chandler because if it hadn't worked out, the only consequence would have been some awkwardness afterwards. If Rachel tried to kiss Joey and it didn't work, she would end up breaking his heart.

"Hey, Rach, what's up with this trip down memory lane?"

Rachel looked over at Monica, who seemed concerned for her. Mon was such a good friend, but Rachel didn't know what to tell her.

"Nothing, really."

"Are you sure? You don't seem okay."

Rachel really wasn't okay, but she felt like she needed to leave this conversation quickly before her inquisitive friend figured out exactly what was going on. She glanced at her watch but didn't actually read it. "Gosh, would you look at the time? I have to get back to work!

She heard Monica saying something behind her but didn't focus on it as she rushed out of the coffee house.

* * *

Later that evening, Monica was sitting next to Chandler on the couch. She leaned her head over on Chandler's shoulder as they watched TV and let out a weary sigh.

Chandler wrapped his arm around her in a familiar move. "Tough day?"

"Sort of. I had the most bizarre conversation with Rachel at lunch today."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know. It seemed like she really wanted to talk with me about something, but then she skirted around whatever it was by asking me about London."

"London?" Chandler sounded about as confused as Monica felt.

"Well, kind of. She asked me if a guy was ever so nice to me that I just wanted to grab him and kiss him, so I told her the story about the night we hooked up."

"Huh, I wonder what brought that up."

"I honestly don't know. Then she asked me how I knew I actually wanted to kiss you and wasn't just feeling grateful or whatever."

"What did you tell her?"

"I told her that I just went for it, and of course, it ended up working out 'cause you're a really good kisser." Chandler smiled proudly at the compliment, and Monica continued. "It didn't seem to help. She seemed really worried and kind of sad, and then when I tried to ask her why she was asking all these weird questions, she dashed out really fast. She didn't even finish her coffee."

Chandler frowned. "Do you think she was trying to get your advice on something?"

Monica shook her head. "Maybe. If she was, she could have been a little less vague." Monica felt mildly irritated with Rachel. How was Monica supposed to help her when Rachel wouldn't actually explain her problem?

Chandler chuckled in disbelief. "I can't believe I'm about to say this, but this almost sounds like last year, when Joey started liking Rachel and asked us a bunch of vague stuff about the rules and London and looking at people differently. You think it's some kind of role reversal or something?"

" _What?!_ Chandler, that doesn't make any sense." The idea of Rachel liking Joey simply didn't compute in Monica's brain.

"Neither did Joey last year. Remember how we both thought he was talking about Phoebe at first?"

Chandler was right about that. Joey's feelings for Rachel had come as a surprise to everyone, but Monica wasn't convinced by what Chandler said. "She rejected him a year ago, though. What would make her change her mind?"

Chandler sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right. But it really doesn't sound like she was talking about Ross."

It didn't. She had dated Ross before, and her questions sounded like something you would consider if you had never been with someone and if you were unsure about your feelings. "And if it was a new guy, Rachel would probably just go for it." Process of elimination suggested that Rachel _had_ been talking about Joey, but Monica couldn't understand _why_. She touched her temple, which felt like it had been hit with a blunt object. Thinking about this situation with Rachel was starting to give her a headache.

"You okay, Mon?"

"I'm fine. This whole thing with Rachel today was giving me a headache. I think I'll go start dinner." Monica got up from the couch and walked towards the kitchen.

"You should just let it go. I know you want to help her, but whatever's going on with Rachel, I think she needs to figure it out for herself."

Monica pouted. She did want to help, but she didn't really know what to do since she didn't even understand the problem. "You're right." She began to prepare dinner, focusing on the soothing process of cooking and letting that distract her from her concerns about Rachel.


	3. The Cute Professor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Strangely enough, she didn't feel an ounce of jealousy when she saw Ross's poor attempts at flirting with the professor. Just amusement and a little bit of affection for Ross, the same kind of feeling she would get when she saw a cute dog or that time she had seen Chandler telling Monica that he "liked maintaining her."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I introduced Charlie earlier than we met her in canon to help establish that Rachel really is over Ross based on how she reacts to seeing him going all ga-ga over Charlie.
> 
> This chapter takes place a few days after the previous chapter, and it's in Rachel's POV. It includes an altered version of the scene where Ross first meets Charlie in 9.20 (TOW The Soap Opera Party) where Rachel, Joey, and Phoebe are also present. Also, I included a reference to Joey's gay costar from 9.19 (TOW Rachel's Dream).
> 
> For Phoebe's characterization in this chapter, I kept in mind how excited she was to try to hook up Ross and Rachel in 9.14 (TOW All the Blind Dates) and that it was only about two weeks later.

A few days later, everyone was hanging out at Central Perk, and Ross was complaining about having to show the new professors in his department around the N.Y.U. campus.

"I mean, what am I, a tour guide?"

Rachel rolled her eyes and tuned out Ross's whining. Everyone had parts of their jobs that weren't so great, but that didn't mean she wanted to hear about them. Heck, she didn't even really want to hear Ross gushing about his job. Dinosaurs were boring to her, and she just didn't care about creatures that had been dead for millions of years.

It wasn't like Joey's job. She loved hearing about the new storylines his character had, and he told her fascinating stories about his costars. When she had mentioned finding one of his costars cute, Joey had told her that the man was gay and how Joey had discovered this fact by finding him and the Santa they had hired for the evening making out at the office Christmas party. At the time, she had been a little disappointed that her fantasies about the cute actor had been ruined, but she had laughed at Joey's description of how he had found them practically dry humping under some mistletoe on a set they had used for scenes at the Brady family home.

And then there had been the time she had gotten to go to the Soapies with him. She had a lot of fun getting dressed up and getting to see all of the stars, even if Joey didn't win. And if he had won, Rachel wouldn't have minded Joey squeezing her ass on national TV.

Rachel cast her gaze over to Joey, who was sitting several feet away from her on a chair, eating a muffin and looking very bored at Ross's story. When he saw that she was looking at him, he tilted his head at Ross and rolled his eyes. He winked at her, and Rachel smiled, feeling butterflies fill her stomach.

Was it possible that she was starting to develop a crush on Joey? She did find her thoughts straying to him whenever she was bored by what was happening around her. He hadn't done anything explicitly romantic since that morning when he had acted like he wanted to kiss her, but Rachel found herself starting to read into normal looks and touches as if they had more meaning. And every time, she felt like she did now, nervous and oddly excited.

"Wow, uh, so you're Professor Wheeler."

Rachel turned curiously when he heard Ross talking to one of the people he had mentioned before she tuned him out. She found Ross gazing admiringly at an attractive, young Black woman. That definitely wasn't the "old windbag" he would fear having to give a tour to.

The woman thanked Ross sincerely for showing her around campus, and Ross said that it was "no big deal" and that if he didn't have the tour, he would just be at the gym working out. Rachel suppressed a laugh. Ross was always so awkward when he flirted with someone, like that time he had told that pizza girl about gas or when she saw him in the coffee shop after running out on her wedding with Barry and he opened an umbrella when she went to shake his hand.

Strangely enough, she didn't feel an ounce of jealousy when she saw Ross's poor attempts at flirting with the professor. Just amusement and a little bit of affection for Ross, the same kind of feeling she would get when she saw a cute dog or that time she had seen Chandler telling Monica that he "liked maintaining her."

She had mentally let go of Ross when she decided to stop living with him, and evidently, she had let go of him in her heart as well.

The professor complimented Ross on his paper, and he got flustered about it.

Monica, who was sitting next to her, nudged Chandler, who was sitting on her other side. "Twenty bucks says they're married by the end of the month."

Chandler smirked, and Rachel did too. "Probably," Rachel replied.

Monica's eyes widened. "Gosh, Rach, I forgot that you were there," she whispered.

Rachel shrugged. "I'm fine." She really was.

Rachel turned her attention back to Ross, who was attempting to convince the woman to leave without waiting for the other professor. When "Professor Spafford" arrived, Ross let out an audible "Aw, damnit," which made Rachel cover her mouth to avoid bursting into laughter.

After a quick introduction, Ross left with his new crush and the other professor, who was an older guy that looked like the "windbags" Ross had complained about earlier.

Phoebe, who was sitting near Rachel in a chair, was glaring in the same direction Ross had left.

"Pheebs?" Monica asked. "Why are you glaring at Ross like that?"

Phoebe was still glaring when she turned to look at Monica. "I know that new professor was cute and all, but did he have to flirt with her so obviously right in front of Rachel?"

Rachel thought it was sweet of Phoebe to be so protective of her, but her concern was misplaced. "Ross and I aren't dating. He's allowed to flirt with cute professors if he wants."

Phoebe stared at her as if she had landed from another planet. Chandler mouthed the words, "Told you" at Monica, who shook her head. Well, that was weird. They must have been having some kind of side conversation.

Joey took another bite of his muffin. "She was pretty hot, wasn't she?" He grinned as he seemed to picture what she looked like.

Rachel frowned at her coffee cup. For some reason, Joey thinking the professor was hot bothered her a lot more than Ross acting like a dork in front of her. Even though it just sounded like an assessment of her physical attractiveness. And even though she knew Joey was in love with her and probably wouldn't feel differently just because he saw someone attractive.

Rachel, feeling a little petty, decided to solicit Chandler's opinion. "She wasn't _that_ great. What did you think, Chandler?"

Now, it was Chandler's turn to look at her like she was a freak show. People really needed to stop doing that to her.

He glanced over at Monica, who was looking at him expectantly. "Well, nobody's as beautiful as Monica, of course." He leaned over to peck her on the forehead.

Monica beamed. "Good answer."

Chandler wrapped his arm around Monica. "Ross did seem really into Charlie." _Oh, that was her name_ , Rachel thought. "I hope that works out for him."

"I think he was hoping for that tour to turn into a date, but that older guy is going to be a third wheel," Rachel added.

"That would definitely be an awkward date," Phoebe said. She began to talk about this truly awful date she had one time, and the others chimed in with similar stories. Rachel shared the story of her recent blind date with Steve, not explaining who exactly had set her up with him. Joey and Phoebe looked a little guilty, but Rachel made sure to highlight the humor of how terrible the date was. By the end, Joey was snickering when Rachel recounted how Steve had asked if could "make love" to her. Rachel thought that Joey looked really cute when he smiled. She had been having a lot of thoughts like that lately.

Eventually, everyone had to leave to go back to their jobs except for Chandler, who was currently unemployed and looking for entry-level advertising positions. As they were walking out of Central Perk, Phoebe stopped her.

"Are you really okay with this Ross and Charlie thing?" Phoebe asked.

"I am." Rachel nodded, feeling confident and certain.

"But Ross is your lobster. It must hurt to see him with other women."

Rachel frowned, considering Phoebe's attitude towards her and Ross. She had seemed very attached to the idea of them as a couple based on her recent scheming with Joey.

Rachel decided to put that notion out of her head. "I think Ross and I are really over this time. I know I've said that before, but I didn't feel jealous at all when I saw him fawning over Charlie."

Phoebe stared into her eyes for a few seconds as if she was trying to "read her aura" or whatever unusual, psychic thing Phoebe believed she could discern by looking into Rachel's eyes. She blinked when she was done. "Wow, you're telling the truth this time. I guess Ross really isn't your lobster."

Rachel shrugged. "Guess not."

Phoebe left with Rachel, muttering to herself. "If I didn't know better, I would swear that you liked someone else."

Rachel blushed, hoping that Phoebe wouldn't notice. She didn't really want to talk about that yet.

* * *

Several hours later, Rachel was picking up Emma from Ross's place and listening as he told her about his day.

"Professor Spafford was _so_ boring," he recounted.

"Even for a paleontologist?" Rachel smirked.

Ross rolled his eyes. "Ha ha. Very funny. But seriously, he kept going on and on about the kinds of food he was allergic to. Charlie and I practically fell asleep at the table before we ditched him."

Rachel laughed as she imagined Ross and Charlie frantically running away from the other man. "And then what happened?"

"Charlie and I had a really good time, and I showed her all over the college." Ross looked lovestruck as he talked about her. It was nice to see him so happy about something. "We have so much in common, and she's so cool, and funny--"

"You ought to ask her out, Ross." Rachel smiled, feeling genuinely glad for him. She smirked at him teasingly. "Maybe invite her here and break out the slide collection. Really turn up the romance."

"Unlike you, Charlie would actually like my slides," Ross replied. "But really, do you think I should go for it?"

Rachel shrugged. "Why not? I know she's a colleague, but that's got to be more appropriate than that time you dated a student." She adjusted Emma's diaper bag on her shoulder and picked her up from the crib.

"Hey, you dated your assistant, so you hardly have room to talk."

"Yeah, I guess that's true." The little dig about her relationship with Tag would have normally bothered her, but Ross was just responding in kind to her statement about Elizabeth. And truthfully, dating her assistant wasn't the most professional thing she had ever done.

Ross followed her out to the door as she walked out with Emma. "Is it just me, or have we been getting along better lately?"

"It's not just you."

"I guess you living with Joey really makes sense for us."

Rachel looked up into Ross's eyes. He seemed serene right now, but she wondered if he would be so calm if he knew that Joey still had feelings for her. He would definitely freak out if he learned that Rachel was starting to think about Joey in a less than platonic way. Not that he had any right to, really. If Ross could think about asking out Charlie, Rachel could have a crush on Joey. But she knew Ross wouldn't see it that way.

Rachel knew she had been silent for too long, so she focused on what Ross had said. "I'm glad you see it that way. And I hope things work out with Charlie."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. I'll see you tomorrow." She turned to Emma. "Say goodbye to your daddy, Emma."

"Bye-bye Emma," Ross said in a high-pitched voice. Emma made a happy noise when Ross reached out to stroke his finger over her cheek. Rachel grinned. Ross was such a good father. He straightened to address Rachel. "See you tomorrow."

Rachel nodded and walked away with Emma. She felt glad that she was going home to Joey. Like Ross said, it really made sense for her.


	4. The Movie Night Mystery Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joey was out picking up the movies, and Rachel was currently fixing her hair and touching up her makeup. She kept reminding herself that this wasn't a date, but with the mixture of nervousness and excitement coursing through her body, it sure as hell felt like a date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is mostly in Rachel's POV, until the last scene, which is in Monica's POV once again. This chapter contains some deliberate parallels to the Rachel and Monica scenes in 9.20 (TOW The Soap Opera Party) and to the _Cujo_ scene in 8.12 (TOW Joey Dates Rachel). Also, there's a brief reference to 8.16 (TOW Joey Tells Rachel).
> 
> I was inspired by some things people wrote on older FanForum posts when they were doing rewatches of season 9. They said that they would have liked to have seen Monica telling Rachel that hooking up with Joey would be a bad idea because of how Joey felt about her and how a casual hookup might hurt him instead of having her just say "friends hooking up is a bad idea." I liked that idea, so I incorporated it into this chapter.

Over the next couple of days, Rachel had thought over her situation and concluded that she did have at least a small crush on Joey. She was clearly reacting to him even when he didn't do anything that could be construed as romantic. Sometimes, she caught herself just staring, admiring how handsome he was. She had always known he was good looking, of course, but it had never affected her this way until now. If Joey had been any other guy, Rachel would have tried to make a move or ask him on a date to explore how she felt. But Joey had been brave enough to admit that he was in love with her. She couldn't explore her feelings for him lest she lead him on. Joey had dealt with enough heartbreak from her.

Rachel had come to a temporary decision, but it didn't mean that she felt any more settled. She had been able to sleep more than she had the first night, but she hadn't really gotten a good night's rest since before Joey had told her how he still felt.

Today, they were alone at the coffee house. Joey had gone to get a cup of coffee for himself and came back with two. He presented one to her.

She waved her hands in protest. "Come on, Joey, you don't have to buy coffee for me."

He put the coffee cup down in front of her on a coaster. "This is the least I could do after I saw you looking all tired again." He glanced away, speaking more softly. "It's pretty much my fault, after all."

"It's not your fault." Rachel glanced over to Gunther, who was staring with Joey at irritation. It was the exact same way he used to look at Ross back when they were dating. Apparently, Gunther had picked up on her little crush on Joey.

"Rach, I'm not dumb. You've been acting weird ever since I told you, all anxious and different around me." Joey gazed up at her sadly. "I wish I'd never said anything. All I did was make you uncomfortable."

Joey had misinterpreted the situation completely. Rachel tentatively let her hand rest on Joey's forearm. "I'm okay, really. It's just been a lot to take in." She smiled weakly. "You did kind of imply you wanted to marry me."

Joey sighed, withdrawing his arm from her hold. "I didn't mean, like, _now_. That would be crazy. But if things had worked out differently back when I told you how I felt the first time, and we were actually together for a while..." He gazed off into the distance, picturing something wonderful, judging by the dreamy look on his face. He blinked, letting whatever he had seen drift away, and seemed miserable when he came back to the present. "But I know that can't happen anymore."

She bit her lip, unsure how to respond without hurting him further. She placed her hand back on his forearm, blinking the tears out of her eyes.

Joey smiled reassuringly at her. "Don't cry about this. I'm kind of used to it."

Rachel let out a pathetic warbling noise. "That doesn't really help."

Joey leaned close to her, wiping away a few tears that escaped. His hands touched her face so tenderly, and Rachel froze, stunned by how he was caring for her. She forced her gaze away from his. Joey's face was too close, and if he kept looking at her like that, Rachel was sure she would give into temptation and kiss him. She couldn't do that.

When Rachel stopped crying, Joey drew away, and Rachel took a few deep breaths to calm back down. She needed to think of some kind of distraction. "Hey, remember last week how you said you'd never seen the _Back to the Future_ series?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"I was thinking we could rent them. Make a night of it some time."

Joey smiled, looking a lot happier than he had at the beginning of the conversation. "I don't have any plans tonight. Do you?"

Rachel grinned. "Not a one." It would be good to do something normal with Joey, something they would have done back when they lived together the first time, back when she was nothing but a friend to him. Rachel hoped it would re-establish some kind of equilibrium between them.

* * *

Joey was out picking up the movies, and Rachel was currently fixing her hair and touching up her makeup. She kept reminding herself that this wasn't a date, but with the mixture of nervousness and excitement coursing through her body, it sure as hell felt like a date.

As if some divine force had conspired to make Rachel's life as difficult as possible, Monica walked into the apartment. "Hey, Rachel, I was wondering... Rachel? Joey? Where the hell are you guys?"

Rachel applied one last swipe of lip gloss. No time like the present.

"I'm right here, Mon." She walked out of the bathroom into the living room.

Monica tilted her head. "Do you have a date or something?"

Rachel walked past her to the kitchen area without glancing at Monica. "No. Why would you think that?"

"Maybe because you're putting on makeup at almost seven at night."

 _Damn her for being so observant!_ "Is there something wrong with trying to look nice?"

"No, but I've never seen you go to this much effort unless you're going out or have a date," Monica replied calmly. Rachel put a bag of popcorn in the microwave. "So, I guess your date's coming over here, then."

"Monica, I told you, it's not a date!" She turned to look at Monica, scowling a little. Why did she have to come over now, and why did she have to be so nosy?

Monica smirked. "So, is it your mystery man? Did you decide you weren't just grateful but did want to kiss him after all?"

She panicked when she heard Joey's footsteps outside the door as the microwave beeped, indicating that the popcorn was done. Joey entered the apartment, and Monica froze at the sight of him like a deer caught in the headlights.

Joey seemed confused. "Is Monica joining us for movie night or something, Rach?"

Rachel smiled, hoping that it didn't look too brittle. "No, she just needed something. You can go ahead and start the movie. I'll be right there." Joey walked off to the recliner they usually shared when they watched movies, and Rachel dragged an immobile Monica into the hallway, shutting the door behind her.

Rachel turned to face Monica, who was gaping like a fish. "Mon, listen--"

Monica held up a hand, and Rachel shut up, waiting for her to voice whatever she had to say. "Are you on a date with _Joey_ right now?" she hissed in a loud whisper.

"No, we're just watching movies together." She tugged at the hem of her shirt, avoiding Monica's gaze. "It's no big deal."

"No big deal, my ass! You're acting like it's a date!" She gasped. "Is he the guy you wanted to kiss? Rachel, you _cannot_ kiss him!"

"You think I don't know that?"

Rachel must have said that a little harshly because Monica flinched backwards and seemed a little subdued. "Rachel, what's going on?"

"I'll explain tomorrow, okay?"

"You better. Don't do anything stupid."

"I won't," she promised.

Monica went back to her own apartment, and Rachel inhaled deeply, trying to shake off the previous conversation before she opened the door.

"Hey, Joey."

He turned from his position in the chair to face her. "Hey, Rach. Is Monica okay?"

"She's fine. She was just asking me something about Phoebe's birthday." Phoebe's birthday was in a month, so that was a plausible lie to tell Joey.

Joey seemed to believe her. "All right. Well, I got the popcorn you made and the movie just started."

"Great. Thanks." She strolled over to the chair, and Joey moved himself to make room for her. Rachel squished herself in next to his side, and Joey wrapped an arm around her. She attempted to focus on the screen, but Monica's words were echoing in her mind. This did feel like a date.

"Popcorn?" Joey shifted a bowl between them so that Rachel could reach it.

Rachel glanced up at Joey's face in the dim light, feeling her breath catch when she noticed just how close his face was to hers. She wouldn't even have to move that much to kiss him.

She forced her gaze downwards to the popcorn, munching it and then looking back at the screen. "Joey, how we're sitting, is it weird for you?"

"What do you mean?"

"With how you feel about me, is this too close for you?"

"It's not _Cujo_ -level close."

Rachel remembered how she had basically climbed into Joey's lap and buried her head against his chest because she was scared. That night, he had tried to sit in a stool instead of the chair. Oh, God, had he already started to have feelings for her by the time they watched that movie? The night before, Joey had taken Rachel on that "date." Was that what started it for him?

Oblivious to her racing thoughts, Joey continued. "Not that I minded, but that won't help me get over you. Not that this will, but I can handle it. I probably can't watch scary movies with you like this, but this one isn't supposed to be scary, right?"

"No."

"Then I'll be fine. As long as you don't climb into my lap." His voice lowered to that seductive tone he used to hit on women. "If you do that, then I'm not making any promises."

Rachel laughed weakly, trying not to think about climbing into Joey's lap. But the mental image was there, and it couldn't be erased. For some reason, her clearly exhausted brain decided to think about straddling Joey's lap, which was just not something she should think about while sitting right next to him. Joey wasn't using that tone of voice to seduce her, but it had worked anyway. He had just been trying to make her laugh.

Joey turned his attention back to the movie, and Rachel watched it in bits and pieces as well. She was very familiar with this film, so she didn't need to pay close attention to it to understand the basic plot. That freed her to watch Joey, to see how handsome he looked when he laughed, to see how adorable he looked when his expression became sympathetic when Marty McFly went through some kind of predicament. She couldn't kiss him, and it felt so unfair to her.

When they were almost done with the first movie, Rachel yawned and closed her eyes. She leaned her head against Joey's shoulder, feeling comfortable and so, so tired.

"Rach, you want me to stop the movie?"

Rachel shook her head. "You can keep watching."

* * *

Rachel woke up to Joey shaking her shoulder gently. The movie screen was frozen on a scene from what looked like one of the sequels. Emma was crying, and she sounded really close.

"What's going on?"

"I think Emma's hungry. I checked, but she didn't need her diaper changed, and there weren't any milk bottles in the fridge."

"Okay, thanks for letting me know."

Joey passed Rachel to Emma, and she stood up from the chair, taking Emma back to her room to breastfeed her.

Within a couple minutes of feeding her daughter, she woke up enough to realize that Joey had tried to take care of Emma so that Rachel could sleep. Rachel was touched by how attentive he was to both of them.

When Rachel came back out of her bedroom, she transferred Emma to her crib. Joey was standing nearby, watching them and looking concerned.

"Was that it? Was she hungry?"

Rachel turned to look at Joey once her daughter had been placed in the crib and was sleeping soundly. He looked vulnerable standing in the dim light in front of the TV. "Yeah, she's fine. Next time, you can just wake me up. You don't have to take care of her." He wasn't obligated like Ross or Rachel were as her parents.

"But I want to." He looked longingly past her into the crib, and it hit Rachel like a lightning strike. If Joey had thought about marrying Rachel, he must have thought about being Emma's stepfather too.

His mouth twisted lightly as he looked back at Rachel. "Besides, it's not a big deal. I have six little sisters and a bunch of nieces and nephews, so it's not like I've never taken care of a baby before. It's fine."

Rachel could tell that Joey was making light of this. That seemed to be what he did, make light of how he felt about her, and now Emma too. Her heart broke for him a little, at the fact that he felt like he had to do that.

Rachel cleared her throat, suddenly feeling too emotional. "Right, well, thank you. I'm feeling pretty tired, so I think I'll go to bed."

"Night, Rach."

"Goodnight, Joey."

Rachel walked back to her bedroom, shutting the door behind her and leaning back against it. With everything that had happened tonight, only exhaustion would enable her to sleep.

* * *

The next day, Rachel had slept more than usual due to sheer exhaustion. Now, she felt more like a regular tired mom of an infant instead of a zombie.

Rachel had decided to meet Monica at a local park. The weather was unusually nice that day, so Rachel took Emma out in her stroller.

They walked in silence for several minutes. Rachel felt the weight of Monica's stare and glanced over at her.

"I know you have questions, Mon, so go ahead, ask."

Monica seemed to be gathering her thoughts. "How did--? I mean, when did--?"

Rachel sighed with a sense of familiarity. Monica sounded exactly like she had when Joey had told her he loved her for the first time. Apparently, karma had come for Rachel, and big time.

"Okay, first of all, please don't tell Ross any of this, and please, please don't freak out."

"Why the hell would I tell Ross anything? And what happened?"

 _So much for not freaking out._ Rachel prepared for the incoming explosion at her next statement. "About a week and a half ago, Joey told me he was still in love with me."

"He WHAT?!"

"Monica, calm down."

"I'm not gonna calm down! I can't calm down! Why the hell would he do that?! That is so inappropriate!"

Rachel felt defensive of Joey. He had been through so much, and it had been so hard for him. "He said it without meaning to. He told me he wasn't planning to ever tell me."

Monica looked distinctly uncomfortable. "So he was-- what-- planning to pine over you forever?"

"Basically."

"Wow, that's so--"

"Awful? Horrible? Depressing?"

"All of the above? But how did that lead to--" Monica gestured vaguely with her hand.

"Well, he assumed it would make me uncomfortable and asked if I wanted to move out. But I didn't feel uncomfortable, and I didn't want to move out."

"You know that's not normal, right Rachel? To want to stay living with somebody who's in love with you, when you're not in love with them?"

"I know. But then I started getting all of these weird feelings after he said it. Like the next morning. Or maybe even that day. And that's when I tried to talk to you."

Monica rolled her eyes. "Chandler is going to be so smug about the fact that he was right this whole time." Rachel looked at her with confusion, and she gestured vaguely. "Continue."

"Anyway, I guess things kind of snowballed, and I just developed this really big crush on him."

Monica sighed. "Is it really just a gratitude thing? Is this like when you thought he was proposing to you?"

Rachel bit her lip, stopping the stroller's forward movement. Monica had unknowingly hit on just how serious Joey was about her. "It's not. I thought it was at first, but it's really not. I mean, I don't just want to kiss him when he's saying or doing nice things for me. I want to kiss him all the time now."

Monica smiled briefly before her expression returned to its inquisitive mode. "Do you think it's just a physical thing? Do you want to just hook up with him or something? Because friends can't just hook up and have it be fine. It's _always_ a bad idea."

Rachel frowned. "But what about you and Chandler?"

"Okay, you and Joey _,_ specifically, hooking up is a bad idea. I would have thought so even before what you said earlier because of how he was last year. I wasn't there for the worst of it, but what I saw was just-- really, really bad." She shook her head before she looked at Rachel sternly. "If something happened with you two and then you ended it, I'm pretty sure it would kill him."

Rachel began to push the stroller forward again. "I guess you're right."

"So it is just a physical thing?"

Some of Rachel's emotions hadn't been just about wanting Joey. But she had loved him, as a friend, before this whole thing had even started. The line between friendship and something more had been getting blurred for her lately. Was what she felt really strong enough to be called love?

"I honestly don't know."

"Well, then I wouldn't do anything if I were you."

They continued their walk, and a heavy silence hung over them. There was really nothing left to say.

* * *

After her walk with Rachel, Monica returned to her apartment, where Chandler was waiting for her.

"How did it go?" Chandler asked from his position on the couch.

Monica put her purse down on the coffee table and slumped next to Chandler. "I need a drink."

Chandler grimaced. "That bad, huh?"

"You were right. That whole weird question was about Joey." She laughed hysterically, practically on the verge of breaking down. "But that's not the surprising part."

"It's not?" Chandler sounded confused. She knew he hadn't really expected to be proven right, as much as he might gloat about this later if it turned out well.

Monica shook her head. "Apparently, Joey never got over Rachel, and he's been carrying a torch for her this whole time."

Chandler sighed, bone-weary and deep. Monica didn't expect that reaction, so she turned to look at her husband, who seemed incredibly depressed about something. "I was worried this might happen."

"That what would?"

"Mon, I never told you this, but after Rachel thought Joey proposed to her, he told me about what happened, asking me for advice. When he told me she said yes, he looked over the moon, happier than I've ever seen him. And that was even when he hadn't planned to propose to her."

"Chandler, are you saying--?"

"Joey didn't just love Rachel. He loved her enough to want to marry her, and now we know he never stopped." Chandler stood up. "God, I think I could use a drink too."

He stood up and grabbed a couple of beers from the fridge. He returned to Monica, handing her a beer. She opened the tab and took a gulp. "This whole thing is such a mess. And that's not even considering Ross's role in it."

Chandler plopped down next to her and also took a sip. "So what is it, is she grateful, or is this--?"

Monica shook her head. "According to her, it's not just a gratitude thing, and she sounded pretty convincing. But I asked her if it was just a physical thing, and she didn't know."

"It's not been very long since she asked that weird question. Most people aren't Joey, and they do take longer to fall in love than that."

Monica nodded. "I told her to not do anything right now. God, could you imagine if Rachel hooked up with Joey and dumped him? It would crush him."

Chandler swigged on his beer. "I hope this just doesn't turn out bad for everyone. Ross included."

She clinked her beer can against his in a mockery of cheers. "Amen to that."


	5. The Kissing Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Hey, Pheebs, can I ask you something?"
> 
> Phoebe straightened and faced her attentively. "Of course."
> 
> "How important do you think dreams are? Do you think they ever have a connection to real life?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're getting near the end of this story, guys. The next chapter will have actual Joey/Rachel (finally), and then the chapter after that will deal with Ross's reaction to them as a couple. I may also add an epilogue to tie up any loose ends and conclude the story on a positive note.
> 
> This chapter is inspired by events in 9.19 (TOW Rachel's Dream). I took the idea of her having a dream about Joey and Joey's lines to the pineapple from that episode. Phoebe's dream about Ross comes from 5.22 (TOW Joey's Big Break) and Rachel's past sex dream is from 1.22 (TOW The Ick Factor).
> 
> I based Phoebe's reaction to Joey/Rachel on how she usually seemed like a big supporter of Joey and what would make him happy in canon. 
> 
> This chapter starts with a Rachel POV, and then we have Chandler POV for the last scene.

After her long talk with Monica, Rachel felt sad and more than a bit guilty. Had she really just been thinking of using Joey like Monica had said? Despite her resolve, it was getting harder every day not to kiss him.

Rachel opened the door to her apartment and entered to see Joey talking to... a pineapple?

"I want you," he said softly as he held the pineapple tenderly and began to caress it almost romantically. "I need you. Let me make love to you."

"Uh, not to stand in the way of true love or anything, but I think a cantaloupe might hurt less."

Joey turned to face Rachel. He looked embarrassed to have been caught attempting to seduce a pineapple. "Hey, I didn't see you there. I was just rehearsing some lines for D.O.O.L. I've got a big scene tomorrow with Olivia."

Rachel remembered the Drake and Olivia storyline. Olivia had been pushed by her family to marry Connor, but she and Drake had that passionate kiss under the bridge. It made sense that they were bringing up the storyline again.

"I'm kind of nervous," Joey admitted. "I've never done a really romantic scene like this before."

"Well, maybe it would be better for you to rehearse with a real woman, and not a pineapple," Rachel suggested.

"Yeah, I guess I'll see if Phoebe or Mon isn't busy." At Rachel's confused look, Joey fidgeted before explaining. "Some of these lines in here, they're even more than what you saw. I can't really say them to you without..." _God_ , Rachel felt stupid. Of course, Joey wouldn't feel comfortable rehearsing a love scene with her.

"I think I remember Pheebs saying that she didn't have any massage clients today," Rachel said. After her talk with Monica, she figured that Monica would need to decompress. It had been pretty intense for both of them, and Monica had seemed glum as she walked away.

"Thanks, Rach." He got up from the stool he was sitting on to pick up his script and keys. "I'll rehearse it all with Pheebs. Well, except for the part where I kiss Olivia at the end. That would be kind of weird."

Rachel laughed as Joey left the apartment, but she felt uneasy at the thought of Joey kissing Phoebe. Or anyone else, really.

* * *

That night, as Rachel slept, she had a dream about Joey and her. The living room was dark, similar to the night they had watched the _Back to the Future_ movies together.

Joey advanced towards her, brushing a bit of hair from her face as he spoke to her. His other hand settled on her waist. "I want you. I need you. Let me make love to you. Please, Rachel."

His voice sounded so longing, so passionate. Rachel apprehensively placed her hands on Joey's shoulders before looking into his soulful brown eyes. "I love you too."

Joey's grin was blinding, and then it faded to a look of raw desire as he leaned down to kiss her...

Rachel startled awake before Joey could kiss her to hear Emma crying over the baby monitor. "Damn it." She really wished her dream hadn't cut off like that. She got up to take care of her daughter, thinking about the dream the entire time.

* * *

The next morning, Joey had left for work before Rachel got up. He left her a note telling her that he had to be at the set early today for his big scene. His big love scene where he had to pretend to be in love with Olivia and kiss her. Rachel tried not to feel too jealous as she thought about Joey kissing another woman. He was an actor, and it was his job. And, really, what right did Rachel have to be jealous? Joey could kiss whoever he wanted.

But more than jealousy, she felt a twinge of loneliness as she got ready that morning because Joey wasn't there. Which was silly. She would see him later that day. But Rachel had gotten used to having him around in the mornings.

While she was at work, Rachel thought about her dream. It was no surprise that she would want to kiss Joey in her dream, considering her recent thoughts about him in real life, but she had also said she loved him. Did that mean that she felt that way in real life too?

During her lunch break, she stopped by Central Perk and saw Phoebe sitting on the couch reading a magazine.

Rachel sat next to Pheebs. "Hey, Pheebs? How has your day been so far?"

"Pretty good. Yesterday, Joey dropped by my place and asked for my help rehearsing this love scene he has with this Olivia girl."

"Oh he did?" Rachel feigned surprise.

Phoebe nodded. "Yeah, he was really good. It was kind of unexpected though. I thought he would have asked you or Monica to rehearse with him since he lives with you and Monica is across the hall. I live so far away from you guys."

It was true. Phoebe did live far away from everyone else, and they were more likely to meet her at Central Perk or one of their apartments than at Phoebe's place.

"I think Joey needed someone who's a really good actress to help him with that scene."

Flattery clearly worked on Phoebe, who preened a little. "Well, I am very talented."

The conversation briefly paused, until Rachel decided to talk to Phoebe about the dream. She really needed to talk to someone, and she got the feeling that she had overwhelmed Monica yesterday.

"Hey, Pheebs, can I ask you something?"

Phoebe straightened and faced her attentively. "Of course."

"How important do you think dreams are? Do you think they ever have a connection to real life?"

Phoebe tapped her fingers on her chin. "Sometimes. When I was twenty, I dreamed that I had triplets, and then that happened later."

"Wow, really?"

Phoebe nodded. "Of course, I didn't know they would be my brother's triplets. On the other hand, this one time I was really mad at Ross and couldn't remember why. But then, we played the fast questions game and I remembered it was because he called me boring in a dream while we were playing chess. And then he ripped off his energy mask and was Cameron Diaz." Phoebe chuckled. "That had nothing to do with real life."

Rachel just squinted at Phoebe, unsure how to respond to her strange story about Ross. It had nothing to do with Rachel's issue.

"Why are you so interested in dreams anyway?"

She glanced away. "I may have had one, recently. About someone I know. It's nothing."

"It doesn't seem like nothing. Was it a sex dream?"

Rachel looked back at her, scandalized. "Phoebe!"

"Wow, it was a sex dream!" Phoebe's grin turned playful. "It must have been a pretty good sex dream, according to your aura."

"It, it wasn't a sex dream." Rachel really needed to stop stammering. "More like a... a kissing dream."

"Must have been one hell of a kisser." Phoebe leaned forward, suddenly interested. "Who was it?"

"Oh, wow, you know, you've helped me out a lot, Pheebs! But I've got to go. I'll tell you all about it later!" Rachel grabbed her purse and got up from the couch, quickly rushing out of the door of the coffee house. In her hurry, she didn't see that she gone past Chandler and Monica.

* * *

"Rachel! Rachel!" Phoebe was yelling after Rachel and pouted once she was gone.

"Well, that was weird," Chandler noted. _Why would Rachel dart out of here so fast?_

Chandler and Monica went over to sit near Phoebe, who seemed disappointed about something.

"Hey, Phoebe, what's up with Rachel?" Monica asked.

"Apparently, she had a really interesting dream but wouldn't even tell me about it. She was acting so freaky about it, like it was some kind of really kinky sex dream, but then it was just a kissing dream, and she wouldn't even tell me about it."

"If it was a really kinky sex dream, she probably wouldn't shy away from telling you about it." Chandler squirmed when he remembered years ago how Rachel had a sex dream about him and Joey in some kind of threesome and had said that sometimes it was just him and Joey doing stuff and didn't even feature her. That was so _not_ an image he needed in his head right now.

"Oh, yeah, she probably wouldn't." Phoebe giggled, and Chandler frowned when he remembered that she had been there for that conversation. Monica looked at them questioningly, but Chandler didn't explain. He hoped that he wouldn't have to.

"What exactly happened?" Monica asked.

"She asked me if I thought dreams had any connection to real life, and I told her about the more memorable ones I had."

Monica made a face. "Did you tell her the one about Ross and Cameron Diaz?"

"Yeah, but it really didn't seem to help, and I don't know why!" Chandler rolled his eyes at Phoebe, who continued her story. She could be so _weird_ sometimes. "And then I got her to admit that she had a dream about someone she knew, and I thought it was a sex dream at first because she was being all floopy and edgy about it. But then, she said it was just a kissing dream." Phoebe paused, looking more thoughtful. "You know, she acted really evasive when I asked who it was. That's when she ran out of here."

Monica frowned at Chandler, clearly remembering a very similar conversation with Rachel. "You don't think--?"

"It probably is."

"Are you guys keeping secrets from me, too? Why am I _always_ the last to know about stuff?" Phoebe seemed hurt that her friends were hiding things from her.

Chandler sighed, looking over at Phoebe. "We weren't hiding anything from you. We just found out about this yesterday." He took a deep breath, glancing over at Monica, who nodded at him. "Rachel has a thing for Joey."

Phoebe looked shocked and possibly a little excited. "Wow! She does?!" And then she froze, a look of sorrow overtaking her features. "Oh, no."

"Phoebe?" Monica asked. "What is it?"

"I think Joey really is over her. He was helping me try to get Ross and Rachel back together a little over two weeks ago." Phoebe shook her head. "Talk about your crappy timing, huh?"

Monica twisted her hands in her lap. "Joey told Rachel he never got over her."

"He _what_?! But why would he try to help me, then?!"

"Joey has a sacrificial streak a mile wide," Chandler answered. "Especially if it comes to Rachel. All you would've had to do is convince Joey that it would make Rachel happy."

Phoebe frowned, lost in thought and looking remorseful. "I did tell him that I thought they belonged together and talked about how they should be a family with Emma. Come to think of it, it did seem like he was more just going along with what I said. Oh, _Joey._ "

A silence descended over the group until Phoebe brightened. "But hey, if Rachel likes him back, that's good! This will make Joey so happy! I guess I should have tried to set them up, instead." Phoebe smiled as she seemed to think of various plans in her mind.

"That would be a _horrible_ idea," Monica said. Phoebe looked confused until she explained. "We're not sure if she's really serious about this or not. It would kill Joey if she just hooked up with him one time or something."

Phoebe shook her head. "You guys are making this too complicated. If she didn't really like him, why would she act so weird over a kissing dream?" Her eyes widened and she flapped her hands like a bird having an aneurysm. "Ooh! Ooh! She told me she was totally over Ross a few days ago!"

"She did?" Monica asked, surprised. Chandler was too.

Phoebe nodded. "Yeah, she wasn't jealous at all of him and the dinosaur girl. I read her aura, and she was totally fine. She actually seemed kind of happy for him."

Monica and Chandler considered Phoebe's words. Chandler wasn't sure, but with Phoebe's new information, a happy ending to this story really seemed possible for the first time. Chandler's lips tilted upward as he imagined something good happening for his friends, especially Joey. Joey had been in pain over Rachel for so long, and it would be nice if he wouldn't have to suffer anymore.


	6. The Love Doctor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Yep. I just fixed everything. Just call me Chandler Bing, the love doctor."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, finally the J/R get together chapter! A few notes: I gave the actress who played Drake's love interest Olivia in 9.19 (TOW Rachel's Dream) a name for the purposes of this story. Also, there are some deliberate references to 8.12 (TOW Joey Dates Rachel) in this chapter. The thing about Chandler being bad at giving advice came from 9.23 (TOW In Barbados Part I), though I think there were some other references to Chandler's bad advice in other episodes.

That evening, Rachel was browsing through her copy of TV Guide when Joey entered the living room, returning from work. She was trying to figure out what she wanted to watch tonight.

"Oh, how did your big scene go today?"

"It went pretty well. There was a lot of takes though, so it took a while to shoot."

Rachel felt a little twinge of insecurity as she pictured Joey saying romantic lines to that beautiful actress over and over again. And kissing her a bunch of times. That scene didn't sound like one where the actors would just have a light peck. _Ugh._

Her mood lifted when she saw that the Knicks would be on TV in an hour. Joey always enjoyed watching basketball with her. If she was lucky, maybe she could wrangle one of his big sweatshirts out of him and get to wear it for the purposes of showing "team spirit." Well, more for the purposes of getting to wear Joey's clothes, but he didn't need to know that.

Joey had gone off to his bedroom already when she called out to him. "Hey, Joey? There's a Knicks game on TV in an hour, you want to watch it with me?"

"Sorry, Rach, but I can't. I have a date."

"A date?" Rachel felt blue. She had missed Joey earlier today, and now he would be gone again.

"Yeah, I have to go pick her up in a bit, and she lives pretty far away, so I have to start getting ready now."

Wow, she really _wouldn't_ get to see him tonight. Rachel felt despondent and maybe, possibly, the beginnings of another emotion.

She hoped her voice wasn't too unsteady with her next question. "Who is she?"

"Bianca Carter, the girl who plays Olivia." Joey sounded happy about it.

Rachel scowled. That girl was gorgeous, and she and Joey had amazing chemistry in that scene under the bridge. She regularly watched _Days of Our Lives_ , taping episodes so that she could see Joey act, so she had already seen them kiss. Would she have to see that in real life, too? The idea made her feel a little nauseous.

"You, uh, you sound like you really like her."

There was a pause, and she imagined Joey shrugging behind the door. "She's cute, and she's nice. She actually asked me out, so I guess she's pretty interested in me." Rachel grit her teeth at the idea of Bianca making a move on Joey. She could barely hear Joey's sigh from behind the door. "She's not you, but nobody is. I've got to at least try to get over you, right?"

Rachel didn't know how to respond. A year ago, she would have been glad to see Joey move on. Being in love with her just made him miserable, and she just wanted Joey to be back to his old, happy self again.

Now? Now the idea just sent a stabbing pain through her chest. What if he really did hit it off with Bianca, and they ended up getting married and having a bunch of beautiful, dark-haired little children? Rachel imagined them together like that and bit her lip to avoid sobbing.

God, why was she reacting this way? It was just a date. Rachel found the remote and began flipping channels until she found _Access Hollywood_ , trying to focus on the celebrity gossip and not the fact that Joey was about to go out on a date with a stunning woman who wasn't her.

Several minutes later, Joey exited his bedroom, looking more dressed up than he had been when he entered earlier. He was wearing a red button-down shirt that looked really good on him. Rachel felt jealous that he had dressed up for this girl and was probably taking her out to a nice restaurant or something like that. She wished she could be the one going out with him instead.

She attempted to smile supportively at Joey. "Good luck on your date."

"Thanks," he ruffled her hair as he passed her. "Don't wait up, okay?"

Dread crept through her as she imagined him staying out all night with this girl, maybe even going back to her place. Joey wasn't a monk, and she knew he had slept with women since she had rejected him a year ago. It hadn't bothered her before, but now the idea of him sleeping with this actress really, _really_ hurt.

"All right. See you." Joey grinned and left, and Rachel deflated as soon as he was gone. What the hell was happening to her?

Rachel loved celebrity gossip, but she couldn't focus on her TV program. Eventually, the channel started showing something else, and Rachel gave up the pretense of trying to watch TV, standing up from the recliner and pacing in front of the TV.

She couldn't stop picturing Joey on that date with the actress, and her imaginings were interspersed with that "date" she had been on with him so long ago. At the time, she had just classed it as Joey doing a favor for her as a friend, but now it seemed different. Would Joey show up at Bianca's door with flowers like he had with her? That hadn't even been a real date, but the flowers had seemed like a special gesture. She didn't want Joey knowing enough about this girl to pick up her favorite flowers.

Thanks to that "date," she now had a horrible knowledge of all the moves Joey would use with this girl. He probably wouldn't use that bottle of wine from a fan move since she was an actress and wouldn't be so impressed by his fame. But he would use that, "I can't wait 'til the end of the night to kiss you" line. Joey had been so convincing that Rachel had leaned in when he used that line on her. Bianca would probably lean in, and they would kiss. Joey didn't really need special moves to seduce a woman. Bianca would probably want to kiss him for who he was, just like Rachel did.

Rachel couldn't help sniffling, and a few tears escaped when she imagined Joey kissing that woman. What if he really did end up thinking she was so beautiful that he couldn't wait until the end of the night to kiss her? Rachel cried harder when she thought about Joey starting to fall in love with this girl.

Rachel brushed the tears from her cheeks, glancing towards the front door. Ross had Emma for the night, so she could go over and try to talk to Monica. Maybe she could help her figure out why she felt so terrible.

She left her apartment and walked the short distance to Monica and Chandler's front door. She paused briefly before she knocked. She hoped she wasn't interrupting their time alone.

Chandler answered the door, and his eyes widened when he looked at her. Was it that obvious that she had been crying?

She plastered on a smile. "Hey, Chandler. Do you know if Monica's here?"

"She's still at work. Is there something I can help you with?"

She really didn't feel comfortable talking to Chandler about this. She didn't share much deep, emotional stuff with him. That was usually Monica or Phoebe, and, when it didn't involve twisted emotions about him, Joey. She couldn't make herself look like an emotional wreck in front of Chandler.

"You know what, I'm fine. I think I'll just talk to Monica later. Or not!" Rachel laughed, trying to seem breezy.

"Rach, you look like crap," Chandler said bluntly.

"Gee, _t_ _hanks_ ," she retorted.

"You know what I mean. Come in."

Rachel gave in to Chandler, walking past him and collapsing into a chair near his and Monica's kitchen table. She didn't have the energy to make it to the couch. She stared sullenly ahead as Chandler took a seat opposite her and affected an empathetic expression. She wasn't exactly looking forward to having him play therapist with her.

Chandler cleared his throat. "So, I'm guessing this has something to do with Joey?"

"Monica told you?"

Chandler nodded, and Rachel put her arms on the table, resting her head in one hand with her elbow propped up. Ugh, at least she wouldn't have to go through the long process of explaining stuff to him.

"So, why are you so upset now?"

Rachel huffed out a breath, looking at the table. She knew what she was about to say sounded ridiculous and childish. "Joey went on a date."

She glanced up with a scowl when she heard Chandler's light laughter. He looked practically jubilant. _What the hell is he so happy about?_

"This isn't funny, Chandler," Rachel told him.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He stopped laughing, but the grin on his face wouldn't go away. He didn't look remotely apologetic. "I just thought something bad had happened with you two, and instead it's this."

"But this is bad. What if he really ends up liking this girl?"

Chandler shrugged with a neutral expression. "So?"

"So?! So, what if he gets married and they have kids and he forgets all about me?! What then?" Rachel wiped away the tears that had started to fall again. She felt embarrassed. She hadn't meant to yell at Chandler like that, but it was hard when she felt like Chandler was making fun of her.

Chandler chuckled. "I know Joey has a way with women, but I'm pretty sure even he can't reproduce in one night." Rachel glared at his joking tone before Chandler schooled his expression into something more serious. "You're putting the cart before the horse here. It's just one date."

"I know, but it feels like the world is ending. I really don't like the idea of him dating this girl."

"Because _you_ would rather date him?"

Rachel nodded. "Yeah, I would."

Chandler smiled. "Well, there you go. Now, the question is, why are you telling me this instead of Joey?"

"Because he's on a date with his stupid costar," Rachel said bitterly. She sighed sadly. "And because of what Monica said. I mean, Joey was really serious about me."

" _Is_ , Rachel. Is. And let's look at the facts okay? According to Monica, you think about kissing him all the time." Rachel blushed at that. "And she said you were acting like it was a date when you guys were just watching movies together. You told Phoebe you were over Ross, and then you tried to tell her about some apparently really intense dream you had. And now, you practically had a panic attack because he went on a date with someone else and started crying at the idea of him marrying this mystery girl." Chandler paused and shook his head. "You know who this reminds me of?"

"No. Who?"

"Joey. A year ago. Minus the truly insane attempts at denial."

"Oh." Rachel hadn't thought of it that way. She had been so afraid of hurting Joey that she had downplayed her feelings, even to herself.

"You should probably go back home. You wouldn't want to miss Joey when he gets back from his date."

"No, I wouldn't want to miss that." She smiled, hopeful that Joey would get home soon so she could tell him how she felt.

She exited the apartment and ran into Monica in the hallway. "Oh, hey Mon, I was just talking to Chandler. Don't worry, I won't be bothering you guys anymore after tonight." She beamed and strode into her own apartment, feeling better than she had in weeks.

* * *

Monica's eyebrows rose when she saw Rachel going back to her apartment. She looked happier than Monica had seen her in a long time, possibly ever. What had caused this sudden change?

Monica entered her apartment and found her husband sitting on the sofa and grinning goofily to himself as he flipped channels on the TV. He settled on a basketball game with a content sigh. Chandler's behavior was odd. She knew he liked to watch sports occasionally, but he was acting way too happy, like it was porn or something.

She hung her purse on the coat rack and made her way towards the couch. "I just ran into Rachel out there. What were you guys talking about?"

"She just dropped by needing something, and I gave her some advice."

Monica frowned and shoved Chandler lightly on the arm before she sat down next to him. " _Chandler!_ We've talked about this. You know you can't give advice."

"On the contrary, I gave Rachel excellent, very helpful advice." Chandler seemed to ponder something. "You know, if this advertising gig doesn't work out, I might think about becoming a therapist."

Monica glared. "What did you tell her?"

"I told her to talk to Joey."

"You WHAT?!" In other circumstances, advising someone to talk to another person when an issue concerned them was a good idea. But Joey was way too vulnerable to find out Rachel had a crush on him if it ended up dissipating quickly. She thought _Chandler_ understood that better than anyone.

"Yep. I just fixed everything. Just call me Chandler Bing, the love doctor." He smirked, looking stupidly proud of the nickname he had given himself.

"Well, _love doctor_ , what are you going to do when Joey is a mess after Rachel hooks up with him and leaves him?"

Chandler shook his head. "Won't happen." He grinned. "She came over here, looking for you because she was freaking out because Joey went on a date."

"She did?" That definitely gave a new context for Chandler's advice.

Chandler nodded. She said, and I quote, 'it feels like the world is ending.' She got herself into a tizzy because she started imagining him living happily ever after with this random date."

Monica snorted. "Damn, that's really melodramatic."

"It reminds you of Joey, doesn't it?"

"It really does." Monica shook her head. Those two were going to give her a case of high blood pressure if this didn't resolve itself soon. She hoped Chandler really had fixed everything. "Does she want to date him or something?"

Chandler grinned. "That's what she told me."

"Huh. Rachel and Joey. Who would have thought?" A smile overtook her face, and Monica and Chandler shared matching idiotic grins.

* * *

Rachel changed into an old Knicks shirt she had borrowed from Joey a long time ago and watched the game while she waited for him to come back. Her leg was bouncing up and down from nerves.

She heard Joey's key turning in the lock and glanced at the TV. It was only halftime. Joey was back home sooner than expected. Rachel sighed with relief.

Her heart raced when he walked in the door. She turned her head to face him from her position in the recliner. "How was your date?"

Joey shrugged, looking disappointed. Rachel felt bad for feeling so good from his misfortune, but hopefully she was going to make him ecstatic in the next few minutes. "Eh, it was okay. There wasn't really anything wrong with it, but Bianca and I just didn't have any chemistry together off set."

"That's too bad, sweetie."

Joey shrugged again. "I guess sometimes you have to give it a shot, even if it doesn't work out."

Joey's mood seemed to improve when he saw what Rachel was watching on the TV. "You were watching the Knicks without me?"

"I missed you."

He joined her in the chair, and Rachel slid over to make room for him. When he put his arm over her shoulders, Rachel closed her eyes and exhaled. Being with Joey like this felt so perfect.

"You seem really happy, Rach." His voice indicated slight surprise.

"You're here." She looked straight into his eyes, trying to show him exactly how she felt with her gaze. Joey stared at her before swallowing nervously and looking at the TV. She knew he would do that. He had been forced to live with his unrequited feelings for so long that he couldn't even see when they were returned for fear that it would give him too much hope.

Rachel screwed up her courage to actually talk. "Joey, I've got to talk to you about something."

Joey turned his attention back to her, looking nervous. "Okay."

"It's not bad, I swear." Joey relaxed slightly, and Rachel licked her lips, looking for the words to express everything she felt. "Ever since you told me you still love me, I've found myself... looking at you differently."

Hope briefly flashed across his gaze, before it disappeared to be replaced by something cautious. "Differently how?"

Rachel was going to have to spell this out. "I like you, Joey, so much. I can't stop thinking about you, thinking about kissing you, thinking about--"

Joey interrupted her speech by capturing her lips, and Rachel melted into the kiss, reaching up her hands to run them through his hair. She did what she had wanted to do days ago and crawled into his lap, getting as close as she could.

This was exactly what Monica had been talking about when she answered Rachel's initial question about Joey. Rachel wasn't just grateful. She was on cloud nine, and she didn't think she would be coming back down to Earth anytime soon.

Joey pulled away to breathe, and he looked just as exhilarated as Rachel felt. "You, I... pinch me, Rach."

She shook her head. Joey wasn't making any sense. "What?"

He grinned wider than she had ever seen him. "I just need to make sure I'm not dreaming."

She returned his smile. "You're not."

He laughed. "Is this why you were acting so weird around me?"

"Yeah. I just needed a little time to figure out how I felt."

He ran his hand over her cheek. "How do you feel?"

Her eyes fluttered closed at the gentle touch. "I want more than just the kissing, though I want a lot of that."

"That good, huh?"

"Really good." Joey laughed again, and Rachel relished the sound. It was wonderful to hear him so happy. "I want to date you. I want to give this a chance, and see where it goes."

He seemed awed. "You have no idea how happy that makes me."

Rachel gazed down at his lips, tempted to kiss him again. "I'm not saying I am where you are, but I'm definitely getting there."

He released her name in a soft breath, with a tone that carried more emotion than any other words could say. Rachel shifted to straddle him, and Joey let out a hissed breath.

Rachel grinned wickedly. "Like that, did you?"

"Baby, you've got no idea."

She moved to kiss his neck. "I think I'm starting to understand."

Joey clutched her tightly against him. "You know, we're going to have to talk to Ross tomorrow."

Rachel stopped, feeling as if a bucket of cold ice water had been dumped on her. She really didn't want to think about Ross right now. She just wanted to be with Joey.

"Tomorrow," she agreed. She leaned back in, determined to drive any worries about Ross's reaction away from Joey's mind.


	7. The Reactions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chandler frowned. "Not to rain on your parade, guys, but how are you going to tell Ross about this?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, everyone reacts to Joey and Rachel finally being together (including Ross). I included a reference to Ross/Charlie in this chapter, and we may hear a little bit more about them in the story's conclusion.
> 
> The idea of Monica and Chandler answering the door creepily comes from 10.07 (TOW The Home Study), and the reference to how Ross found out about Chandler and Monica comes from 5.14 (TOW Everyone Finds Out).
> 
> I adapted Ross's reaction to Rachel and Joey from 10.02 (TOW Ross Is Fine), but I condensed it and made a few changes to suit my story. That little bit with Joey and Ross near the end is more directly inspired by that scene in the episode. Also, there's a reference to the Joey and Ross conflict in 9.02 (TOW Emma Cries) during the scene where Ross finds out.

When Rachel and Joey went to visit Monica and Chandler the next day, they opened the door at the same time with matching grins on their faces. It was actually kind of freaky.

"Are you guys practicing greeting the neighbor kids for Halloween or something?" Joey asked. "Because let me tell you, you guys have got the creepy faces down."

"Joey, they know about us," Rachel told him.

Joey shrugged, a little embarrassed. "Oh, well, that makes more sense than what I thought."

"We're just really happy for you guys," Chandler said. Chandler and Monica moved back so that Joey and Rachel could enter their apartment. Joey steered Rachel forward, resting a hand on her lower back. Monica covered her enormous grin with her hand at this particular behavior.

Rachel and Joey settled on the couch next to each other. "How did you guys find out about us, anyway?"

Monica smirked. "Rachel here couldn't stop talking about you."

Joey rubbed Rachel's upper arm and smiled. "Is that true, sweetheart?"

Rachel could see Monica mouthing the word "sweetheart" to Chandler and grinning behind Joey's head. "Maybe just a little."

Chandler shook his head. "Don't believe a word, Joe. She couldn't stop talking about you. She even talked to _me_ about it. Of course, I was the most helpful, wasn't I?" He directed his attention to Rachel.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Yes, you were helpful." Joey looked curious, and she decided to explain it to him later.

Chandler strutted over to a chair near the couch. "That's right, because I am the love doctor." He broke out in a giant grin at this statement. _What a dork._

Monica must have been having similar thoughts. "Can you please stop calling yourself that?"

"I will if you admit that I'm a great advice giver," Chandler admitted.

Monica rolled her eyes. "Fine. You're a great advice giver."

"Thank you." He relaxed back into his chair. "After all, I got these two crazy kids together. I think that should give me a legacy of great advice."

Monica appraised the couple on the couch. "They do look pretty happy. Do you guys want breakfast?"

Rachel shook her head. "We already ate."

Monica walked off towards the kitchen area, making something for her and Chandler.

Chandler frowned. "Not to rain on your parade, guys, but how are you going to tell Ross about this?"

Joey let out a sigh, and Rachel reached out to hold his hand supportively. She didn't want to hurt Ross, but she didn't care about his opinion any more than she did the others. She knew that Joey was more worried about what Ross would think and felt guilty for lying to Ross about being over her.

"We're going to tell him together as soon as possible," Rachel said. "We'll just try to explain everything to him calmly and hope he won't freak out too much."

Joey glanced up at Chandler and Monica. His expression was serious. "That means you guys can't tell him anything today. You guys should be able to keep our secret for a day since I kept your secret for months."

Chandler mimed zipping his mouth and throwing away the key. Monica scoffed. "As long as he doesn't find out about you two the way he found out about Chandler and me, we should avoid a nuclear blast."

Rachel snickered at the memory. "Yeah, well Joey and I aren't exhibitionists like you two and actually know how to use curtains."

Joey pulled her closer to whisper in her ear. "We'll definitely need to use the curtains later."

Rachel's heart sped up a little at Joey's words, and then she heard Phoebe entering the apartment behind her and froze.

"Oh, hey, Mon, did that thing you were telling me about last night actually happen or not?" Phoebe asked.

Joey looked at her curiously, and Rachel shrugged. She didn't have a clue what Phoebe was talking about either.

"Take a look at the couch," Monica answered.

Phoebe let out a high-pitched squeal and rushed forward in front of the couch. She hugged Joey and then Rachel in turn.

"Pheebs?" Rachel asked.

"I'm just so excited for you two! This is _huge_!"

"But you were the one who came up with that blind date plan for Ross and Rachel," Joey said.

Phoebe made a flippant gesture. "I thought he was her lobster, but I guess I was wrong about that. Or maybe I was wrong about the lobster theory. I mean, do we even know if they really mate for life?"

"Do we know if what mate for life?" Ross asked.

Rachel tensed, glancing at Joey and then moving a few inches away from him to a position that looked less intimate. She had known that Ross would be coming by their apartment to drop off Emma, but she thought it would be an hour later. She looked over at Phoebe, begging her with her eyes to say something that wouldn't reveal that Joey and Rachel were together now.

"Velociraptors!" Phoebe shouted. "My friend, Denise, said velociraptors mate for life, and since you're the scientist, I was wondering what you thought, Ross."

Rachel let out a breath, glancing at Joey, who looked relieved as well that Ross hadn't discovered their relationship yet. They would need to tell him today. It was too hard for them to keep this a secret.

Phoebe drew Ross into a conversation about the mating habits of dinosaurs, and that somehow led back to the topic of Charlie. "How are things going with dino girl, anyway?" Phoebe asked.

Ross smiled bashfully. "Pretty good actually. I have a date with her this Friday."

Everyone congratulated Ross, including Joey and Rachel. Joey smiled weakly at Rachel, clearly hoping that this new development with Charlie would make Ross more accepting of the news they planned to deliver. Rachel rubbed Joey's arm a little before she drew away as Ross approached with her daughter.

"Hey, sorry I stopped by a little earlier than I thought I would, but I got a page for a departmental meeting earlier today," Ross explained as he passed over Emma.

"Oh, it's no big deal. It just gives me a little more time to spend with this precious girl." Rachel cooed at her daughter.

Joey drew in a shaky breath, but luckily Ross was paying too much attention to Emma to notice how nervous he seemed. "Hey, Ross, do you have some free time later today? Rachel and I need to talk to you about something. It's kind of important."

Rachel glanced at Ross, who was staring at Joey with a puzzled expression. He clearly had no idea what Joey was talking about, and he shrugged in response to Joey's request. "Sure. I guess you guys can come over to my apartment around four, if that works."

"Four is great, thanks," Rachel told him.

Ross nodded. "I guess I'll see you guys later." He leaned over to say goodbye to Emma, and then he left for his departmental meeting.

* * *

A few minutes before four o'clock, Rachel and Joey dropped off Emma with Chandler and Monica, who had agreed to watch Emma while they talked to Ross. Joey gripped Rachel's hand tightly and stared intently at the ground as they walked across the street to Ross's building. They made their journey in a tense silence that was uncharacteristic for them, until Joey stopped near the corner of Ross's floor.

"Rach, what if he's still in love with you? I can't lose you, not after we just--" Joey took a deep breath and blinked, forcing the tears to stop welling in his eyes.

"Sweetie, I don't think Ross is in love with me anymore. Remember how excited he was about Charlie this morning?"

"But what if he is?"

Rachel shook her head. "Joey, even if we weren't together now, I wouldn't want to get back with Ross. I'm not in love with him anymore, and nothing he says in there will make me leave you. Okay?"

Joey nodded, somewhat mollified by Rachel's words. "I just want this to work. I really want to be with you, but I want Ross to be my friend, too."

Rachel plastered on a smile. "I think it will work. We just have to try." She tugged at Joey's hand and he followed her to Ross's apartment. Joey glanced down and released his hold on Rachel's hand, gazing at it longingly for a few seconds before he knocked on Ross's door.

Ross opened the door for Rachel and Joey, letting them walk past him into his apartment and sit down together on the couch.

Ross stood in front of them. "What's up, guys?"

Rachel bit her lip. "Ross, you might want to sit down for this." Rachel wanted Ross to be as calm as possible for the shock he was about to receive.

Ross squinted at them analytically as he sat down. He released a light laugh. "You know you guys are sitting really close, right? I swear if I didn't know better, I would think you guys were trying to tell me you were together or something."

Joey squeezed his eyes shut before he opened them and stared hard at Ross's coffee table. "Actually, that was what we came to tell you. Rachel and I are together now." Rachel took Joey's hand that was resting in between them and interlaced their fingers.

She looked up to see how Ross was taking this, and saw that he was staring at them in disbelief. "Is this some kind of practical joke or something?" Ross asked.

Rachel squeezed Joey's hand a little tighter. "It's not a joke, Ross," she said, putting as much gravity into her voice as she could manage.

Ross was stunned. Joey spoke next. "Look, Ross, we know that this is kind of unexpected, but we were hoping that you would be okay with this."

Ross let out a laugh, but it sounded bitter and wrong. "You thought I would be okay with this?!"

Joey tried to say something, but Ross cut him off and stood up from his chair. "You thought I would be okay with you lying to me and going behind my back?!"

Joey winced, and Rachel spoke up. "Ross, that is not what happened."

Ross ignored her as he rounded on Joey. "You _just_ told me you were over her!"

"I'm sorry, Ross! I wasn't planning on doing anything about it, ever!"

"Oh, really! _Really_?" Ross's voice had turned squeaky, and now he was starting to pace near the coffee table. "Just like you never planned to 'accidentally' propose to her, either!"

"I told you that I don't know what 'this' means!" Joey made the gesture for sarcastic hand quotes.

"Ross, c'mon, that is completely unfair! You know Joey didn't intentionally propose to me, so stop bringing up old history," Rachel said.

Ross scoffed. "Not that old. You said yes to him after all. I should have seen this coming."

Joey attempted to apologize again. "Look, Ross, I'm sorry about lying to you. I shouldn't have done that. But I really thought nothing was ever going to happen with me and Rachel. I meant to get over her, but I couldn't."

"And we didn't go behind your back," Rachel added. "We only just got together last night."

Ross deflated a little at that, perhaps less angry than he had initially been, but far from being calm. He flopped back into the chair and gazed out the window. "How the hell did this happen?"

Rachel shook her head at Joey, warning him silently to not tell Ross the full story. Sometime in the future, once Ross had adjusted to the idea of them, it might be okay to tell Ross how it had happened. But right now, Ross would probably take Joey's accidental declaration of love as proof of his accusation that Joey had made a move on Rachel behind his back.

"Do you really want to know all the details, Ross?"

Ross laughed weakly at that. "I guess not. But still, I just can't wrap my head around you two."

Joey's voice sounded crestfallen when he spoke. "Is that why you were okay with me telling Rachel last year? Because you thought nothing could happen?"

Ross shook his head and turned to look back at them. "No, I just realized I was being a jerk and standing in the way of you possibly being happy." He shrugged, looking guilty. "I guess I'm doing it again, huh?"

Rachel stared at Ross with a raised eyebrow. "You don't have to, you know."

Ross sat up more. "You're right. I'm sorry I blew up at you guys like that. And I'm sorry that I brought up that old thing about the proposal." He sighed. "You are happy together, aren't you?"

Rachel clasped Joey's hand and looked into his eyes. "We are," she replied firmly. Joey's dazzling grin spoke for him.

Ross shrugged, indicating his weary acceptance. "Well then, I guess I can be okay with this."

Rachel stood up, and Joey stood up with her. He stopped by Ross's chair to talk with him. "Are you really gonna be all right, Ross?"

Ross smiled at Joey's concern for him. "I'll be fine."

He gestured between them. "And are we okay?"

Ross clapped his hand with Joey's in a firm handshake. "We're more than okay, man."

Joey walked over to Rachel, who was waiting for him by Ross's door and watching their interaction. They left the apartment together, and Joey held her hand once they were outside. Their hands swung between them as they walked.

"You know, I think Ross really is going to be okay with this," Joey concluded.

Rachel grinned. "Me too."


	8. The Happy Ending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> But the most wondrous thing of all, was Rachel, sitting across from him at a small restaurant table. On their first, real date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a Joey POV epilogue for this story with a little bit of Rachel POV in the last paragraph. I wanted to go back to Joey's POV, where we started this story, to show the huge difference between the beginning and the end. That first chapter was angsty, unrequited love and this is newly established relationship, tooth-rotting fluff. I tie in some of the wording from the first chapter deliberately as well.
> 
> There are some deliberate parallels and references with both 8.12 (TOW Joey Dates Rachel) and 8.16 (TOW Joey Tells Rachel) in this chapter. Also, I mention some more background Ross/Charlie in the course of talking about how Ross deals with Joey and Rachel after his initial reaction.
> 
> Thanks to all of my readers for sticking it out to the end. This is the first time I've written something anywhere near this long, and I appreciate all of your support.

Over the next few days, Joey watched Ross carefully to see if he was really fine with the idea of him and Rachel.

On the day after they had announced their relationship to him, Ross had run into them at Central Perk while they were sitting together on the couch. He had blinked, staring at them. He seemed dazed at the sight of them acting like a couple in front of him. Joey had considered moving away when Ross had arrived, but Rachel had held on firmly to his arm. After several seconds, Ross seemed to come out of some kind of trance and sat down in a nearby chair, striking up a conversation with Monica.

That had been the extent of Ross's reaction to them. Every time he saw them together, he seemed more relaxed and less bewildered by them. And as Friday approached, his excitement over the upcoming date with Charlie overshadowed anything else.

Ross's reaction was only one incredible, strange thing about all of this. He was actually okay enough with Rachel and Joey to agree to take Emma for the night so that they could enjoy their first date.

There had been a time when Joey was certain he wouldn't get to keep his friendship with Ross and that he would never get to be with Rachel in the way he wanted. He was amazed and thankful to be wrong on both counts.

But the most wondrous thing of all, was Rachel, sitting across from him at a small restaurant table. On their first, real date.

The candlelight made her face glow, not that it needed any help. Joey had been staring at her all night, and Rachel had kissed him between the appetizers and the main course.

"I didn't even get to use my line about how I can't wait 'til the end of the night to kiss you," he had said. Not that it would have been a line with her.

Rachel had smiled. "You didn't have to."

Now, they were on the dessert course. Joey was thinking over the evening and deciding that it had gone well. This would now replace the earlier "date" with Rachel as the best date of his life. That night had been incredible, but he had been left lonely at the end of the night when Rachel didn't kiss him. Considering she had already kissed him, Joey thought that his chances were pretty good. Just like that night, Rachel had told a story so funny that it made wine come out of his nose. Joey had worried that he had killed the romantic atmosphere, but Rachel had just seemed concerned when he made a pained face when the wine burned his nasal passages.

He looked up when he felt Rachel staring at him. Her nose was doing that adorable little scrunching motion when she was pondering something deeply.

"Rachel?" Why had she been looking at him like that? Was she reconsidering all of this? _Oh, God no, please, please, please, please..._

Rachel's hand reached out to cover his, and his heart raced the way it always did whenever she touched him. Joey looked up to see Rachel smiling at him tenderly.

"Joey," she said softly. "I think I'm... falling in love with you."

The first time he said it, Rachel had laughed, thinking it was a joke. And then she let him down gently.

The first time she said it, Joey leapt up from his chair, letting it topple to the ground, and knelt down in front of her to kiss her in front of an entire restaurant. He was so happy that tears were falling from his eyes when he pulled away from her with a brilliant grin. A few patrons clapped, mistakenly believing that they had just gotten engaged.

"I fall in love with you every single day," Joey said.

Rachel laughed, but not because she thought it was a joke. She was just giddy. And that surly busboy putting Joey's chair back in its place reminded her of how silly they both were. But that's just what love does to people. Rachel wouldn't have it any other way.


End file.
